Ice Fishing with Otter Outdoors!

[hanson]

I have to ask you, "Do you ever take something for granted?"

I know I do. And that is my Otter Outdoors Ice Shacks.

In the ice fishing world, there are many pieces of equipment that receive a lot of hype; fishing rods, reels, augers, tackle, line, and you guessed it, flashers. I like to discuss these items with other anglers, always looking for something new that will give me an advantage on the ice. But the one piece of equipment that I rarely discuss is my ice shacks.

Why is this? I'm not quite sure. What I do know is I've been running Otter ice shacks for over five years now on the ice. I take my shacks out of the truck, run them out on the ice, fish, and put them back. They do their job, very effectively, and without incident. And so the story goes for five years now.

Over the years, I've watched Otter lead the way with their original Otter Sled, Otter II sleds and ice shacks, Trim-Lock attachment system, and their new square tubing design. The square tubing now found in Otter ice shacks is awesome It sets up easily, takes down easily, and is strong when set up. Otter still supplies intermediate support poles with their ice shacks to provide support between the main poles, but I have never used them. The square tubing is that strong and supportive. When you want to set up and take down your house fast, that is four less poles to worry about.

Another thing that separates Otter from the rest of the portable ice house manufacturers is DURABILITY. From the Otter sleds, to the heavy canvas of the house itself, Otter means durability. I have run my Otter shacks behind my Arctic Cat snowmobiles at speeds approaching 65mph across Upper Red Lake, Lake of the Woods, and Lake Winnibigoshish. They pull effortlessly, track straight, and are durable enough to bounce off snow drifts, ice chunks, and even pressure ridges. My shack arrives in one piece and the rest of my important fishing gear does as well.

Speaking of durability, in a lapse of good judgement, I forgot to strap my Otter Den ice shack down in my pickup bed. As I was leaving Upper Red Lake heading by Westwinds Resort, a strong gust of wind caught the shack and flipped it out of my truck bed onto the highway. I cringed when I saw it flip out and thought I'd be repairing an ice shack, or shopping for a new one on Monday. Was I surprised when I turned around and pulled my Otter off of the highway. It was in one piece, no rips or tears, and no bent poles even after hitting the pavement doing 55mph. Now thats durability!

Like I said, "Do you ever take something for granted?" I know I do and I am going to give credit where credit is due. Otter Ice Shacks allow me to be the ice angler that I am. They quietly do their job day in and day out on the ice; keeping me warm, out of the wind, and transporting my other ice fishing gear without incident.

If Otter Ice Shacks weren't as good as they are, I might be talking about ice shacks more, trying to figure out which shack best fits my needs. But fortunately, I don't have to.

Happy Fishing!

[harvey lee]

After really researching how well built the portables are out there I did learn one thing and that is the Otter houses are the best built house out there. From the tub to the stronger square poles to the heavy canvas these houses are A-1.

[Paul Waldowski]

Chris,.

Amen to that!!!

Those that know me would probably classify me as a speed freak!!!! I have pulled my Otter Lodge behind my sled at times in excess of speeds that it was designed to be pulled at

I have never, ever had any kind of issue with the sled or house. I spend a ton of time on the ice and have spent many a night in my Resort and have yet to have any kind of quality issue. Otter houses and sleds will take you there, get you back, and won't let you down

[Northlander]

Hey Paul I agree 100% but now you have to teach Rick how to pack his bags in the sled so we dont have to pick them up all over the lake.

[Paul Waldowski]

Steve,

You obviously haven't spent that much time with him!!! He hasn't quite figured out the whole GPS thing and how to read it so he was leaving a trail back to the landing

[Northlander]

Could get expensive. What does he do when it gets dark?

[hill7410]

I would have to agree, My buddies had bought otters about 5 years ago or so and i finally saved enough money to get the magnum lodge this year and i am in heaven now that i have my own. I throw everything in the house throw the cover on and take off on the ATV and i dont have to worry or look back every other second to make sure its still there. I like how thick the canvas is, makes it much warmer when the wind cant go through.

[CORL ICE CREW]

Just wondering if anybody has had problems with those sled type houses tipping over to the side when pulling them . I have been told they tip over alot.Ido not own one, but would like to check out the otter.

[Northlander]

Even at high speeds they wont tip over if you have the proper tow hitch for your house. Check out www.otter.com and look at the video they show. If a house can go through that abuse I doubt it will tip on the lake.

I have never had mine tip even riding sideways on hills.

[ChuckN]

If you use the proper hitch (not a rope! ) for towing these fishhouses, I have never seen it happen with my Otter Lodges I've owned. My friends and I tow these houses a lot of miles every year, and I know we have all hit plenty of surprise bumps along the way.

[Bob Horn]

I had one of the pins fall out of one side of the shelter while towing. I didn't notice it until it was being loaded back onto the truck. It towed straight. The hitches are heavy duty just like the shelters.

[iffwalleyes]

It will not tip if using the right hitch. The only towing problem I have is on bare ice. When I am moving along and have to slow suddenly sometimes the house wants to kick to the side and go sideways but show me a house that won't do that in this situation. Maybe if I slowed down a little this wouldn't happen . But in the snow it will just float along behind you. You will hardly remember it is even there.

[Paul Waldowski]

I've been running Otter Houses for years and I knew that they were tough and could stand up to anything. Today I gave it the ultimate test. A buddy of mine fried the hi-fax on his snowmobile today. Track locked up tighter than a drum and now way could we break it loose. So here we are, a mile and a half out on MilleLacs and now we have to try drag his dead sled back and my Otter. How to do that???? We ended up turning his sled around and lifting the back end up and putting it on my fishhouse and strapping it down. This way the track was off the ground, and we drug the sled backwards all the way back to the resort. The Otter was none the worse for wear

[hanson]

What is it about Lake Mille Lacs that puts your equipment to the test?

I spent last weekend running around Mille Lacs on my snowmobile with my Otter Lodge in tow. I didn't keep track of the miles but I must have run 30 miles between the two days of fishing and my Lodge was loaded up with fishing stuff- depth finders, rods, propane tank, heaters, seats, minnow bucket, tackle boxes, sandwiches and beverages.

What a couple fun days on the ice. There is just enough snow cover on Mille Lacs to allow for snowmobile use, which is how I like to fish.

So how did Mille Lacs put my equipment to the test? My pin that was holding the towbar to the hitch on my sled came undone and my Otter went for a ride on its own at 40 mph. I did not notice that the house came loose until I didn't see my buddy behind me anymore.

I thought I had a big disaster on my hands until my buddy reassurred me that the house did not flip, or roll over at all. Big relief! My Otter protected my valuable gear again.

Fishing was alright as well.

[iffwalleyes]

Mine did the same thing Chris my last trip on Lake of The Woods. No damage to any of my equipment either. They must stop fast though when that tow bar digs in .

[Bob Horn]

I had one of the pins come out that attaches to the shelter. It towed like I had all the pins in. I didn't notice until I was loading it on to the truck. I think the hyfax played a part in that also. Another good reason to run hyfax on your shelter. It keeps your shelter running straight.

[ChuckN]

Spent last weekend at Lake of the Woods and racked on 60 miles in temperatures hovering -20 at night and below zero for highs. We didn't make the typical 150 mile weekend, but we definitely found the fish. Snow was hard, rough and no groomed trails. I've learned to pack these sleds good, but traveling an average of 40mph on rough terrain and not one damaged item...that's why I trust Otter.

[fishermann222]

I use the ottersled as a trapping sled up here in Alaska. It is a great sled for trapping. It is suprising how well the hitch holds up. For those of you who mention it has a tendency to tip over, there are a few things to consider. If towing at speeds in excess of 50mph or with a strong crosswind it will tip up if empty. If it has some weight in it there are no problems though.

I put mine through more abuse then they were ever designed for (bare tundra, rocks, mountains, trees, hauling logs), you name it I have done it. I had one of them get 4 cracks on the corners when hauling about 1500lbs of wood logs 70 miles across the tundra at 40 below. I mentioned it to the Otter dealer and got a new one. THATS CUSTOMER SERVICE!!!

If you are pulling it across alot of bare ice you can take a piece of angle iron and file it down, drill it into the sled so it acts as a skag. works GREAT.